F.A.Q.

Q. What is the difference between lined and unlined products?

A. The lined products are manufactured with an ABS plastic puncture guard liner which provide each pack with the puncture resistance of 3/8" plywood without the weight of actually using plywood. In the Print Pad line it also insures nothing will bend or crease the art work.

Q. What is a Strongbox?

A. The Strongbox is an extremely fast, easy to use, safe, and reusable method for shipping fine art. It takes less than five minutes from start to finish packing a painting of any value for shipping anywhere in the world and has been approved by all the major air and ground carriers for transporting fine art even with glass. The outer shell is constructed of either a 500lbs double wall or a 350 lbs single wall corrugated material, depending upon the size. The initial testing with Fed Ex showed the deeper containers were a little more vulnerable to collapse. Then as the years have past and artwork has grown exponentially, we continued the 500lbs double wall just because of the vast expanse of space. Inside there are three layers of polyurethane foam.

Poly-foam is spongy, yet still dense foam and is the most shock absorbent material we have found to date. The top and bottom layers of the convoluted foam give it the peaks and valleys and allows the artwork to remain suspended when it rests on these peaks. This suspension effect is what makes our containers suitablefor shipping glass because it diverts the shock away from the pressure points of the frame. The middle layer of foam fills the center of thecontainer and is perforated into small 1" cubes.

All you do to prepare for shipment is open the container, remove the top layer of foam, and lay your artwork in the center of the middle layer of "perf-pak" foam. Then take a marker and mark around the four corners of the frame, remove the art and tear out the perforations within the parameters you outlined and this will create a window for your piece to custom fit to the container. Instruction sheets are included in each Strongbox and will suggest tearing one row smaller if any of your marks fall inside the center of any of the blocks. It's always best to tear one smaller rather than larger because the foam is spongy and it will give and this will allow it to hug it in place that much tighter. The main objective is for there to be absolutely no room for the artwork to move in any direction once the container is sealed. However, after you've pulled the foam back and placed the artwork inside, if the outside window of foam begins to bulge or bow a great deal go ahead and tear off one row at a time from the length and width until it's snug, but satisfactory. After you've torn out the middle layer, all you do is place the top layer of foam back on top (peaks facing inside) and close the container. It has self closing tabs similar to a giant pizza box, but you will want to tape the lip shut in insure nothing will open the container in transit. Many of our clients also tape the sides of the Strongbox, which I encourage. This will just create a much tighter environment, which is a good thing, especially when shipping heavy mirrors or mosaics.

The Strongbox also is available with an ABS plastic "puncture guard liner" which provides the pack with same puncture resistance of 3/8" plywood without the weight of actually having to use wood. We sell approximately 60% lined to 40% unlined. They both have the exact same shock protection, which is usually what causes trauma during a shipment.

Q. What is a PrintPad?

A. The Print Pad is a method for shipping unframed pieces flat for artwork that is better preserved not rolled or simply cannot be rolled to keep its integrity intact. The Print Pad is constructed of a long scored pad, four corners, and a sleeve. All you do is center your print, photograph, etc. in the middle of the upper layer of the long scored piece of double wall corrugated and fold the corners to fit around your piece. There are two scores on each corner, fold only one if you are shipping just one piece. However, you can fold both scores to allow it to accommodate up to 1/8 "depth. Then you simply place a six inch long piece of tape across each corner which in turn adheres your print to the pad. Then fold the bottom half of the pad to meet the top half and then this all fits into another corrugated sleeve in which the corrugation is running the opposite direction to give it the crisscross strength needed to help keep it from bending or creasing. It is also available with the ABS Plastic liner lined to the inside top and bottom just as the Strongbox.

While considerably more expensive in the Print Pad, is provides uncompromised strength to keep it from bending.

Q. What is Glas-Skin?

A. Glas-Skin is a low tack adhesive that will hold glass away from the artwork in or out of a Strongbox. The beauty of this product is that is leave no residue once it is removed and it can be used on museum glasses.

Q. What is the difference in the 350lbs single wall container and the 500 lbs double wall container.

A. The main determinant as to which to use is just the depth of your frame. The initial testing with Federal Express and UPS showed the deeper containers were a little more vulnerable to collapse. As the years have progressed, and art has grown., our new larger size Strongboxes have just been manufactured with the 500lbs double wall material, just to ensure the most protection possibly needed.

Q. How many times can your products be reused?

A. We say an average is 5 to7 round trips with the Strongbox and the Print Pad is very similar. The ABS liner will extend the life in both products to some degree. The upper end we have heard from an artist who enters a lot of competitions is 30 times.

Q. Are your Strongbox containers suitable for shipping very expensive artwork?

A. Yes. Overall, the damage rate % is less than that of wood crating. Mainly, because it it lightweight, therefore it is handled with other lightweight freight. Also, corrugated absorbs shock whereas plywood passes shock to whatever is waiting next in line. Some auction houses used to put a cap of $25,000-$50,000 on what they would ship in one of our containers. Then as they use them and recognize the damage rate is less, that is almost always eliminated. The Strongbox has been approved by all the major air and ground carriers, even for glass framed pieces.

Q. Do you offer insurance?

A. We can't offer it, because we do not actually handle the shipping aspect of the move. However, most galleries and artists have it built in to their store or homeowners policy. If that is not a possibility for you, then you can call Lile Logistics, and they will cover the shipping and insurance as well as prepare all the documentation needed and send someone to your door to have it picked up. If you tell them you are using a Strongbox they will give you the first $5,000.00 free. Call us if you need their number or any help in this regard.

Q. Do you offer custom sizes?

A. Not at the moment. We have in the past, and will begin doing so again relatively soon.

Q. Do you offer quantity discounts?

A. Yes. Just give us a call with your specific needs and we will do whatever we can to meet those needs.

Q. Are your products environmentally friendly?

A. Yes. Everything we use is either made from recycled materials such as our ABS which is made from reground material or will be recycled at some point. The Poly-Foam is scrapped into carpet padding, pillows, fillers for chair arms, etc. Corrugated is obviously made from God made trees and is scrapped into hundreds of uses.

Q. Are your products reusable?

A. Yes. Simply hold on to what you tore out the first time and if you have a smaller piece to ship you can tear off however many rows needed to fill in the gap. If you have a larger piece just tear out more foam assuming you are still within the maximum frame size. Many artists use our containers to enter competitions and say without doing anything to the container you'll get 5 to 7 round trips out of each one. We can sell replacement perforated pieces of foam once they eventually become too dilapidated. Some very enterprising artists will wrap the entire Strongbox in filament tape and say they have used it up to 30 times!

Q. Do you work with all the different art competitions and shows around the country.

A. Yes. We work with a very large number of competitions around the country. Some endorse us exclusively, such as the National Watercolor Society, some require the actual accepted pieces to be juried to be sent in a Strongbox because they work and are relatively damage free. Also, because it takes about 30 seconds to unpack one and have the piece ready to be hung, then even less time to be packed back into the same container for it's next trip. Some show offer a discount for entrance into the show if it's packed in a Strongbox. We also will work with the organization from our end and offer each of it's members a 20% discount if they will mention the particular show as they place their order. If you are part of any art organization, just give us a call and we are delighted to work with you in any manner to make your show run more smoothly.

Q. Will you sell replacement parts, especially the middle layer of perf-pak foam?

A. Yes. At first, hold on to what you tear out to fit your first piece, then the next time you use the container you can either tear out more foam if it's a larger piece, or if it's smaller, just tear off ever how may rows you need to fill in the gap. The main objective for a safe ship is that there be absolutely no room for the artwork to move around whatsoever. The instruction sheet will tell you this as well, but always try and tear one row smaller and see how the fit is. The Polyurethane foam is a spongy foam, yet still very dense and it will give. You can pull on the edges to make it fit more snugly. However, if it gives it a tendency to want to pop out of place then it's too much. That is usually the first part which will become dilapidated. If something funny happens and you need more convoluted foam or another outer shell we can do that as well. Just call for a quote.

Q. Will the different art organizations and competitions accept your Strongbox?

A. Yes! We work diligently with the different organizations to offer discounts to their members if they mention the show as they place their order. We also participate in giving awards as well. The directors of the show say they are delighted to see the percentages rising into the 60% to 80% range of entrants using our containers. Not only because they extremely safe, but take less than a minute to unpack and about the same to pack again once the show is over.

Some shows, such as the National Arts for the Parks competition held each year require actual juried pieces to arrive in a Strongbox and others like the National Watercolor Society, National Oil & Acrylics Painters Society, Colored Pencil Society, Society of Experimental Artists, Society of Mosaic Artists - just to name a few - positively endorse our Strongbox when entering an artist enters their show.

Some exhibits and events will even offer a discount if it's shipped in our container, or charge a surcharge if it is not!

Q. Do I place my order online, by phone, or fax?

A. We are very flexible and try to make your purchase experience as pleasant and easy as possible - so pay the way that works best for you. We love getting to know our customers so it's nice to have phone orders, but our goal is to make shipping art, whether it's a piece you created or one you've acquired, as simple, safe, and easy as possible. We do have a wonderful phone staff to answer any questions you may have or to simply take your order.